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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22967419">A Deal's a Deal</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clockwork_Writing/pseuds/Clockwork_Writing'>Clockwork_Writing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blood and Gore, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, I try my best to stay true to Bill's character, No One Gets Seriously Hurt, Slow Build, Slow Burn, like a REALLY slow burn, mostly just descriptions of nightmares, probably add more tags later, we'll see how I do</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:34:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,683</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22967419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clockwork_Writing/pseuds/Clockwork_Writing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"So, what do ya want in return Twister? A deals not a deal if it's only one sided, unless you just want to lend a poor demon a favor,"</p><p>She shook her head, "I want something, not sure what yet.“ a pause. “Can I take a rain check for now?”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bill Cipher/Original Character(s), Bill Cipher/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have had this goddamn story in my drafts for so long and I've finally decided to publish it. But that does mean I have a good bit already typed out so expect weekly updates till I run out of content. It also means my writing style has changed a ton so if there are some shifts in tones and styles I'm   sorry.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lilly wondered the street of the rundown town, wondering between small shops, family owned business, and teenage owned bakeries. She lived in a fairly small city at the very edge of the surrounding forest and right now she was downtown. A series of building all Victorian themed and filled with over priced, but good looking, items. Just enough to draw in the tourists and while locals don't travel there much, Lilly found herself with nothing to do on this Saturday and a horrible case of artists block. So what better cure then a walk down a visually dynamic part of down.</p><p>She had been in all of these shops plenty of times and she knew the layout of the street like the back of her hand, so at this point there were few she really visited. Only the ones that were kept updated or had a constant influx of new material, or the bookstore, that was also her go to.</p><p>Now though she was interesting in visiting the antique shop. An older store owned by an older man selling the oldest of products. Lilly was a connoisseur for the old, really, she loved rusty type writers and ancient paintings and creepy children's toys that probably had several different types of diseases. She rarely bought anything, money too tight to splurge on her interests, but browsing was still a good way to pass the time.</p><p>So she wondered into the shop, the door creaking and an enthusiastic bell welcoming her. The place never had much business unless it was the holidays and due to her semi frequent visits the shop owner knew her by name.</p><p>"Lilly, good to see you again," He chimed, face wrinkling up into a kind hearted smile. She smiled back, nodding. He knew she didn't talk much, she knew she didn't talk much, everyone knew she didn't talk much. Or at all, if they were honest. She didn't enjoy conversation, of course that doesn't mean she didn't partake in them, though she tended to find people who enjoyed listening to themselves talk and often just joined in.</p><p>She wondered into the isle, rusted model cars, jewelry missing latches, lots and lots of furniture. Not seeing anything of interest she looped back around the the front where the older man stood above a display case housing the more expensive items. Mostly pearl necklaces and sterling silver bracelet, but one thing did catch her eyes.</p><p>A ring, gold in appearance with a small triangle carved into the front. In the center was an eye with a black stone for a pupil. Further inspection brought her to the price tag, '$5.00'.</p><p>She pointed at it, and spoke in a soft, cracking voice. "Why so cheap?"</p><p>He blinked at her, then at the ring. "Oh, that thing," he bent, sliding back the glass pane on the other side of the counter and retrieving the ring and the box it was held in. "The person who brought it in here said it was cursed, strange man. A scrawny gentleman, had this crazed look in his eye and practically shoved it into my hands before running out the door." He sighed and placed it down on the counter, letting her slide the ring from the felt and start to fiddle with it. "Since then I've had nothing, but bad luck. I'm starting to believe him." He set both hands on the counter and made eye contact with her. "So I'm just lookin' to get rid of, five bucks and it's yours if you're interested."</p><p>She eyed it again, twirling it around and around in her fingers. There was something so strange about the figure in the middle, something so alluring. He said it was cursed, but Lilly was never one to believe in that sort of thing, all it was, was a ring. A nice one at that, might be all gold for what she could tell, and for five dollars, what better bargain could you ask for.</p><p>She placed it back on the counter, fiddled around her pockets for her wallet and promptly paid the man. He smiled as she slipped it onto the middle finger of her left hand, it fit perfectly.</p><p>He gave a small smile, "Maybe it'll bring you better luck then it did me," he offered her a receipt, she silently declined and headed out.</p><p>**************</p><p>Lilly's apartment was small, and an odd setup if she ever saw one. The front door led to a small hallway, the first door to the right after that led to her kitchen. A 6x6 room just big enough to fit an oven, sink, and microwave, though the ceiling stretched up a good ten foot. Farther down the hallway led to a second room, this a bathroom, almost bigger then the kitchen, fit with a shower and tub mix, and a good size sink. The end of the hallway led to a massive room with two large windows, one straight ahead and one to the right, each with a small cushioned ledge underneath and giant red drapes framing either side that made one feel like they were in a palace. To the far right corner against the back wall was her bed, a small futon, and a her bedside table next to that with a digital alarm. Against the right wall and centered in the middle of the room was her easel set up so she could look out either window when she decided to paint.</p><p>The view was marvelous and the entire studio apartment was beautiful, it should have been twice, even three times as expensive as she was paying for it, but the main flaw in the design was the kitchen. The room to the right in the hallway was meant to be a bedroom, while the kitchen would be open and installed in the main room. The people working on it we're dumbasses, but Lilly wasn't complaining, she got it cheap.</p><p>But the time she arrived back at home sweet home Lilly was tired, though she always seemed tired now days, she worked a full time job and painted for money on the side, hoping to make that her full career someday. It was an unlikely dream, but a dream nonetheless. For now though she dove head first into her futon, and promptly fell asleep, ring still secured tightly around her finger.</p><p>**********</p><p>Lilly's dreams were often plagued by nightmares. Horrific imagery and gore weren't uncommon. As a child her own mind would traumatize her, leaving her awake most nights, heart pumping and sweat running down her skin in large drops, but now she was far more use to it. Either she had a nightmare or no dream at all.</p><p>Tonight was an usual, but not foreign setup, she stood in a pool of dark red liquid, too thick to be blood, but too dark to be water. Monster and beasts surrounded her, amalgamations of creature she new in her life. A dog graphed onto a bear with its lower jaw hanging off, or just culminations of human parts stuck together with pulsing muscle. They surrounded her, and she couldn't move, couldn't run, couldn't scream. All she could do was watch at they drew closer; maybe they would kill her, maybe they would just rip her piece by piece until she bled out. She didn't know, she didn't care, she was just scared.</p><p>Years ago Lilly had mastered the art of lucid dreaming, but it didn't do her much good. As soon as the dream started she was able to recognize it, try and use it to benefit her. All those articles online were bullshit though. She couldn't control her dreams anymore then one could control a new puppy. All she could do was be made aware that nothing was real and attempt to comfort herself with that.</p><p>Then a voice rang out, "Quite the twisted mind ya got there, girl." It was high in pitch, but still obviously masculine. A distortion seemed to flow beneath his words, making everything crackle.</p><p>Her eyes shot up, then scanned the area. Her body was still frozen in place, a voice in her dreams was uncommon, especially one she didn't recognize. All of a sudden everything around her vanished and she was left standing on pale concrete, free now of the invisible bonds. Around her stretched a pure black void, absolutely nothing, until a small yellow light flashed in front of her. The flash slowly began to take a shape, a triangle to be exact.</p><p>A triangle, about four foot tall, floated in front of her, a black top hat balanced on its head, a bow at its chest, and similar black arms sprouted from either side of its torso, leading down to small hands, one clutching a cane in its palm. The most peculiar thing though was the eye, a large black eye centered in the middle of it.</p><p>The ring, she mused, her mind had twisted the ring to be some sort of monster. Of course, only someone both simultaneously creative and boring could create something like that.</p><p>The thing chuckled, gliding to be closer to her, "No, no, no, while the ring brought me here, I’m as real as can be.” The cane vanished from his hand and he extended it, "Names Bill Cipher, resident dream demon and immortal being that just so happened to be trapped in that ring you bought,"</p><p>Her eyebrows crunched together, analyzing him before slowly taking his hand in her own, giving it a shake.</p><p>He glided back a bit, snapping his fingers to being the cane back between them. "Lady of few words, I see. That's fine, I can do enough talking for both of us!" He didn't have a mouth, but the smile was audible. "You see, I need your help Twister,"</p><p>Her head cocked. Twister, what kind of name was that. She was going to correct him, but gave up before even opening her mouth, what good would it do to correct a dream.</p><p>"You see, I've been in that ring for quite sometime now, and it gets awfully boring in there." He pointed down to the ring still wrapped around her index finger, "So, im willing to make you a deal, you help me get out of this hell, and I'll give you anything you want."</p><p>"Anything?" She mused, voice barley audible, seeming to get sucked into the surrounding abyss.</p><p>"Ah, she does have a voice," he laughed at his own joke, "but yes, anything your tiny mind could think of. Fame, riches, power,"</p><p>She stood there for a moment, hand going to twist the ring around as she thought. "What would you want me to do?"</p><p>He drifted a bit, turning to lay on his back, "Oh, nothing much. I favor here and there, fetch a few things for me, blood ritual if it comes to that, nothing too big."</p><p>She grimaced, "No blood ritual, but I got the rest of it," she paused again.</p><p>"So, what do ya want in return Twister? A deals not a deal if it's only one sided, unless you just want to lend a poor demon a favor,"</p><p>She shook her head, "I want something, not sure what yet.“ a pause. “Can I take a rain check for now?”</p><p>He seemed surprised by the question, eye widening, only slightly, before he shook himself out of it. “Alright, if that’s what you want then Twister, you have a deal."</p><p>His cane disappeared once again, and a bright blue fire enveloped his right hand as he offered it out to her. She hesitated, then shrugged and took it.</p><p>Heat suddenly coursed through her body, and while it didn’t exactly hurt, she was jolted awake, looking down to see the ring around her finger glowing a light yellow.</p><p>"Shit,"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two chapters right off the bat cause the first one is boring lmao. This one isn't much better</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The events of that night had left her on edge for the following week, glancing over her shoulder on her way to work and leaving a small light on before jumping into bed. Lilly always considered herself a rational person, horror movies and creepy stories alike were never nearly as bad as her nightmares anyway and so paranoia was often the last thing on her mind.</p><p>And yet, for the next few days she felt as if a shaky unease had washed over her. Still though, she never removed the ring, even having a coworker compliment her on it, which did help clear up her irrational feelings, sort of.</p><p>It was Friday night, when she had arrived home from work at nearly 12 am. Her boss, while kind in his pay, had a tendency to forget people slept, and while she was more then willing to take the extra four hours of overtime, she was utterly exhausted. So, without a care in the world, she kicked off her pants, turned off the light, and flopping into her bed. The room dark and comforting.</p><p>That is until a glaring light hit her through her eye lids just before she was about to drift off. She groaned, turning and slamming her pillow over her eyes. A plane, she thought, goddamn plane light piercing through her window again, why wouldn’t it just hit her already.</p><p>“That’s not very nice,” a high pitched voice seemed to bounce off her walls.</p><p>She froze, a deer caught in the headlights, then shot up from her bed, wide eyes searching till they landed on the small yellow triangle floating just above eye level.</p><p>“Good to see ya again, twister!” He chimed, gliding closer. “Don’t tell me you forgot about me already?” the smile in his voice was audible and it almost brought a shiver down her spine. Almost.</p><p>She blinked. Once, twice, three times, then shook her head.</p><p>“Still a being of few words, I see,” he practically sang. “Well, either way our deals still up, and I’m gonna need your help here soon,”</p><p>She nodded, forcing her body to relax, yeah, of course. So it wasn’t just a fever dream. She made a deal with the devil.</p><p>“Dream demon, actually,”</p><p>Her shoulders tensed again. What the fuck.</p><p>“Language,” and then a sick chuckle as the realization dawned on her face. “We are in your head right now, all your thoughts are loud and clear.”</p><p>A megaphone appeared in his hand and he brought it to press against her skull.</p><p>“Holy shit,” her own voice echoed from the speaker without her even opening her mouth.</p><p>“See?” He threw the megaphone behind him and snapped his fingers just before it hit the ground, causing it to vanish into a cloud of off white smoke. “Except I don’t need the speaker to hear you,” he drifted closer, not hovering about two feet away. “So if you’re really dead set on not talking,” a pair of chattering teeth appeared in his hand with a zipper in the corner, it drew itself across the bone with a almost comical noise, keeping the teeth tied shut. “We can work with it,”</p><p>Silence for a minute as he ended his sentence, then he chuckled. “And you can only keep your mind blank for so long,” the teeth disappeared with a clack from his hands.</p><p>Damn, she had tried her best to semi mediate, clear her mind, but he could tell that too. She sighed and let her thoughts echo out. Why talk at this point if she didn’t even have to. ‘So what do you want?’</p><p>“Gonna keep with the mute act, huh?” He shrugged and drifted back, seeming to grow as he did. “All the same to me,” he was at the center of the room now and the moon light still sleeping through her windows seemed to grow just slightly brighter. “I need you to get some more information on the guy who dropped that,” he pointed at the ring. “ off at the pawnshop,”</p><p>She nodded, slowly. ‘Easy enough’</p><p>He grinned with his eye alone, bottom lid curling every so slightly. “Great! I had a feeling you’d be a good partner,”</p><p>‘I have a question though’</p><p>The grin fell, slightly. “You want to act on your side of the deal?” He asked.</p><p>She shook her head. ‘No, I just wanted to ask were you are?’ she paused ‘I mean you say we’re in my mind and the first time we met you were in my dream, and yet as far as you’ve told me you’re trapped in this ring’ she held her hand up, flashing the piece of jewelry towards him.</p><p>He twirled his cane across his fingers something akin to a smirk coming to his eye. “Ill break it down, twister, just for you.” He drifted back to her, using the black end of the cane to point at her hand. “You see, I’m in the ring,” his cane traveled up to her wrist. “And the ring is on you,” He swung the cane back, missing her nose only by a few inches. “And after that little deal we made, that ring is attached to you,” he hummed, his cane suddenly stopped spinning, ending pointed directly at the center of her head. “That includes your mind.”</p><p>Her eyebrows furrowed, as she immediately went and twisted the ring around her finger. “Uh,uh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he sang and she looked up, locking eyes, eye, with the triangle. “You see, if you take off that ring, you’re forfeiting our deal, and you can’t just go around forfeiting deals with demons, that usually doesn’t end well. “</p><p>She grit her teeth, but stopped herself. What has she gotten herself into.</p><p>“Nothing much, twister, just a game. Play along and everything will be fine!” With the last words he was gone and Lilly found herself bolting up right in bed.</p><p>Glancing around her room she found it was normal. No demon triangle, no extra, ominous light. Just her room at, she glanced at the clock, 1 am. She sighed, collapsing back into bed. It had been a dream, she thought.</p><p>She had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to sleep for awhile and so she took the time to ponder her situation, now that, hopefully, he couldn’t hear her. Maybe he could though, but what did she care really. He was the one trapped and no use worrying about something that couldn’t be changed.</p><p>She twisted the ring around her finger, idly tracing the carving in the middle. So far he’s only talked to her through her dreams, and he did say he was a dream demon after all. So there was a good chance that was the only way he’d be able to contact her.</p><p>She spun the ring around and around her finger until it lulled her back to sleep, no dreams awaiting her this time.</p><p>The next morning she dragged herself out of bed. She hadn’t slept well the rest of the night, restless and paranoid that the demon would come back. She dressed herself, grabbed an apple from her fridge, and headed out the door to her day job.</p><p>She was an assistant for manager of a fairly large business. She organized his papers, kept his schedule clean, and managed the buildings when he just couldn’t. More often that not though she just found herself taking notes on stocks. Not an interesting job, that was for sure, but it paid fairly well and she didn’t have to talk for a majority of it so she relished what she could.</p><p>Plus she was allowed to leave as soon as she finished her basic chores for the day, assuming her boss didn’t need anything else, and more often then not she went home far earlier that she would in any other job. The flat out wage also made sure her bills were paid no matter how long she was at the office, though it left little room for hobbies or vacations other then the occasion restock in art supplies.</p><p>Today was one of the shorter days, and while she got there at 8, she was leaving the building by noon. Stopping by her favorite coffee shop nearby to get her fill of caffeine in the shape of caramel latte with enough cream and sugar to make a normal man diabetic.</p><p>Then she started her trek to Main Street and back to her favorite pawn shop. Lilly didn’t have a car, but what she did have was a motor bike; that was locked up in a parking garage just next to her apartment and that she refused to take out unless she absolutely had to. Her work was only about a mile away and the Main Street shopping center was a half a mile from there, nothing was out of walking distance and that was one of the reasons she did love where she lived.</p><p>Reaching the long, old fashion street she wound her way back into the pawnshop.</p><p>The bell welcomed her in and the old mans gentle smile calmed any nerves she might have had. The old wooden floor creaked under her feet as she approached the counter, it almost sounded like Bills voice urging her.</p><p>She gave a small smile, “Hi, i was just in the neighborhood and had a question about the ring you sold me last week,” she spoke, gentle, soft.</p><p>The man furrowed his thick brows, wrinkles accentuated by the sour expression. “Oh no, you havin some trouble with it too?”</p><p>She twisted the ring around her finger and shook her head. “No, actually I’ve had no issue with it, it’s just,” she brought her hand up, pointing at the figure on the front. “I tried to look into it some, about the symbol, specifically.” She pointed at the triangle on the front and shrugged.</p><p>“And you haven’t found anythin’?” He leaned against the counter, tilting his eyes down at the jewelry.</p><p>She shook her head.</p><p>He shrugged, then pushed himself back to lean against the wall, large cowboy boots digging into the floor a drawing sounds of pain from the old boards. “Well, sorry to say I can’t help ya much there.” He gestured his thumb towards the door. “The guy who sold it too me was a scrawny little fella, big ol' hat and shakin like a leaf. Didn’t say much, just kind dropped it and ran.”</p><p>She hummed and nodded, “Well, thank you, I really appreciate it, sorry for bothering you,”</p><p>He nodded, giving her a polite wave. “No problem, Lilly, sorry I couldn’t be too much help. At least the ring isn’t cursed though,” he chuckled and she gave a half smile and headed to the door. “Oh yeah,” he spoke up and she turned back to face him. “I did catch a glimpse at the guys license plate. Had a bunch of trees on it and said something like Gravity Falls, maybe it’s something popular around there.”</p><p>She nodded, slowly, smiling a giving him a small thank you before heading back home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>It’s kind of a long and boring ch, but it’ll get better </p><p>I think</p><p>Lemme know if there are any grammatical errors or anything like that</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lilly dreaded sleep that night, running off of her caffeine high for as long as she could and even breaking out her two year old sketch book in an attempt to distract herself, but even that couldn’t keep her awake as the clock struck 3 am and she passed out. </p><p>Evidently though the devil had no other plans for her as she awoke the next morning having slept, surprisingly, well. No nightmares and no dream demon to speak of. Actually the rest of the week was like that and Lilly quickly found herself being lulled back into a sense of security to the point where she came back to her apartment on a cosy Monday  night and fell asleep without issue. </p><p>She practically bolted upright as soon as she became aware of her surroundings, eyes searching the room as the fimilar sensation of a dream settled with her. </p><p>“Hello there to you too, Twiter!” Bills voice rang out, she turned to find him floating in the middle of the room, almost exactly like before. </p><p>She barley made eye contact before she sighed, flinging her legs off the side of the bed and resting her head in her palm. </p><p>“What?” He asked, drifting closer, “Not happy to see me?” </p><p>Compulsively, and without any though, she threw her hand out, attempting to smack the demon. Surprising she felt nothing. This brought her attention back. </p><p>He hadn’t moved, floating only about a foot away, but she was sure she didn’t hit anything. Now curious, and lacking any self discipline, she tried again. Her hand phased through him completely. </p><p>“Yeah, if you haven’t noticed by now I don’t exactly have a body!” He chuckled swiping his own hand through his middle. “That’s gonna be the first thing I really need your help with,”</p><p>She furrowed her brows, *’and how exactly am I supposed to do that?’* </p><p>“Pretty simply, actually,” he floated till he was sat down on her bedside table and she had to tilt her head down to keep eye contact. “You see the interdimentional bastard,” at the curse his eye seemed to bulge slights, red creeping into the white. “that trapped my mind in that ring also decided to throw the other pieces of me somewhere across this dimension,” bill pointed at her, “and with this little deal you’re gonna help me find them.”</p><p>She shuffled. *’how many pieces are there?’* </p><p>He shrugged, “No clue, but the first ones my body and I can feel it, wherever it is it isn’t very far away, though due to that I’m unable to keep this form for long and tracking it down is gonna be a nightmare,” he laughed. </p><p>“I was hopin the guy who brought in the ring might have the other pieces too, but I know my body is closer then Gravity Falls, that’s for sure,” </p><p>She started to interrupt him, but he beat her to even thinking about the question. “And yes, I can hear everything that goes on throughout your day, can’t see any of it though.” </p><p>She shivered, *So how’re we gonna find it?* </p><p>“Well,” He crossed his arms, “if I save up my energy I may be able to talk to you during the day and if you can get us to a high enough place I could pin point where my body is.” </p><p>She slowly nodded, searching her memory for a tall building with easy access. Her work might do, it wasn’t massive but it was an office building and stood a solid 10 stories. </p><p>“That should work great!” Bill laughed. “But my times runnin out here twister, I’ll talk to you again soon!” He chimed and then faded along with the rest of her room as Lilly woke up. </p><p>She sighed, propping herself up in her bed, twisting the ring around her finger again and again before finally standing and heading to her bathroom. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be sleeping for the rest of the night. Splashing some chilling water in her face she wiped at her eyes and scratched at the back of her head. </p><p>Slowly she then dragged herself back into her living and collapsed onto her stool to stare at her easel. Painting time, she thought. </p><p>By 6 am Lilly was already dressed and heading to work. Did she have to come in this early today? No. was her boss even going to be there? Probably not. Still she dragged herself up the stairs to the looming grey building and pushed into the doors. </p><p>A fairly empty reception area and a variety of fake plants greeted her with only one person visible behind the desk. He nodded at her, she nodded at him and that was the extent of the conversations they ever had. No one really questioned her anymore </p><p>She idly twisted the ring around her finger again as she made a beeline for the elevator. Her normal working office sat on the, measly, sixth floor, selecting 9 she shrugged into the back of the lift, letting her head fall back onto the wall and weighing her options. </p><p>He could hear what was going on through her day, but he couldn’t see. And chances are he couldn’t hear her thoughts here either, so she was free from him for the time being.  She could  ask this guy for practically anything in the world, he was infinitely powerful from what he’s hinted at, and all she had to do was go on a little collecting adventure for a few weeks. Logically there was no real downside, sure he was annoying, but the unique events he brought into her life were kind of welcome and after all was said and done she could always ask for a few million dollars and for the government to look the other way and she was set. </p><p>The elevator chimed and the doors slide open. Slowly she made her way out, locating stair case near the end of the hall lined with cramped offices she shuffled up it till she reached a locked door with a small window it in. The door to the roof.  She’d been up here a few times in her life, usually to try and get inspiration or, sometimes, if she was just bored and wanted an escape from the cramped office space. </p><p>Rummaging through her pockets for keys she flipped through them till she found the small silver one that fit perfectly into the lock. The door creaked open and a slight breeze chilled her nose. Stepping out, she padded across the concrete till she reached the protective railing and leaned against it carelessly. It was sturdy, shouldn’t give out, and even if she did she would either be dead, or get a hefty sum for the damages so either way she didn’t care. </p><p>Hands clutching the metal she noticed something, the ring on her hand had a small golden light illuminating the eye at the center. She brought it closer to her, analyzing it for any other changing. Nothing but the light. She furrowed her brows, debating on trying to talk to it, or just ignoring it and moving on. She really didn’t feel like using her vocal cords this early.  </p><p>Signing, she realized there was no other real way to test this. She whispered, “Bill?” Her voice cracked. Great. But the light flashed and gave her the answer she was looking for. “So this is how you’re able to contact me?” It blinked again. </p><p>God that wasn’t very useful was it. “Alright, blink once for yes twice for no,” it blinked once. She nodded, slowly, considering her next step. </p><p>“So, can you feel your body from here?” </p><p>One blink. </p><p>“But you can’t see anything,”</p><p>Two blinks. </p><p>“So how’re we gonna do this?” She muttered. </p><p>The ring lit of with a series of blinks. Rolling her eyes she pressed her other finger over it, effectively silencing him till she could figure something out. </p><p>“How about this, I’ll take a step in a direction and you can tell me if it’s right or wrong,”</p><p>She uncovered the ring. It blinked once. </p><p>“Great,” she drawled. Taking a step away from the railing she centered herself so she had a clear circle around her. Holding her hand at her chest she took a step forward. </p><p>It blinked twice. </p><p>She stepped back to her original spot, rotated a few inches, and took another step. </p><p>It blinked twice. </p><p>They repeated this until eventually she had a clear direction of where his ‘body’ was. “So it’s somewhere this way?” </p><p>One blink. </p><p>“Do you know how far?” </p><p>One blink. </p><p>“Can you tell me in miles?” </p><p>One blink. </p><p>“Alright then,”</p><p>She waited until he seemed to get the idea and the light went off, leaving clear spacing in between. One, two, it stopped. “Two?” she spoke. </p><p>One blink. </p><p>“Two miles straight this way.” </p><p>One blink. </p><p>“That should be easy enough,” </p><p>One blink. </p><p>She found she preferred him this way. </p><p>Quietly she told him that she would head out that way tonight and they could figure out what to do from there. For now she had work. </p><p>The day was slow, almost painfully slow. She got her base work done in a few hours, but her boss was having issues setting up a meeting with a few stock holders and she was the one to set everything up, emailing back and forth between millionaire. Considering how hectic these people schedules were she was surprised they slept and it wasn’t until 5 pm that night did she have a clear date and time that worked for everyone. </p><p>In the elevator she was alone and brought the ring close to her mouth, “Finished, I’m heading that direction now,” </p><p>It blinked once. </p><p>Outside the night air chilled her and she found herself compulsively heading to the nearby coffee shop. The ring blinked spastically on her finger as if to warn her she was going on the wrong directly. “Coffee,” was all she muttered as she pushed into the comfy cafe. </p><p>A chocolate somethin, she really didn’t pay much attention to what she ordered other then the fact that it was deathly sweet and held enough caffeine to send her into an anxiety attack. </p><p>Sipping slowly at it she started walking in the direction Bill had previously stated. Occasionally she was tap at the ring and it would give her a solid blink to let her know she was heading in the right direction.</p><p>About 20 minutes later she was walking past a small shopping center when her ring started to blink again. “In here?” She muttered. </p><p>One blink. </p><p>Turning she started in. It was a fairly good sized shopping area, a large parking lot surrounded by popular stores including a pizza place, a generic nail salon, and a super Walmart. </p><p>“Which way?” She uttered, taking a sip from her now room temperature coffee in an attempt to mask her voice from others walking around the parking lot. </p><p>She kept her hand up, cradling the cup to her chest as if warming herself and turning around the parking lot as if looking for a specific shop that was just out of sight. When one blink went off she looked up. Walmart. </p><p>Somehow his body had ended up in Walmart. She snickered. “If you say so,” She muttered and walked in. </p><p>Chugging the rest of her cup she threw it into a bin as the warm air inside hit her face and brought feeling back into the tips of her fingers. Mid February wasn’t exactly cold, just not warm either after the sun went down and by 6:40 the nip of the air left everyone with a light shiver. </p><p>Inside she wondered from isle to isle waiting for her ring to give her a sign and pretending like she was actually looking for something important. </p><p>Suddenly it blinked and she stared down the isle to see a rather heavy set blonde woman, dressed in the blue Walmart uniform and looking rather frazzled. </p><p>Her hair, which seemed to be naturally curly, was stuck up at odd angles, shooting from her head as if electrified. Dark circles framed under her eyes, pulling the skin of her face down till her mouth looked set into a permanent frown. Around her neck hung a necklace, a black chain decorated with yellow jewels, one on each site and one in the middle,  and a large pearl hanging from the bottom. In the pearl an eye was carved. </p><p>Lilly rubbed the ring on her finger and it blinked once. So he was scattered through a bunch of pieces of jewelry, she mused as she made her way up to the woman. </p><p>“Pardon me?” Lilly asked, tapping her on the shoulder. </p><p>The woman flinched and whipped around before relaxing when her eyes made contact with Lilly’s. “You need something?” She questioned, attempting to calm herself as she slowly turned around. </p><p>“Um, yeah if you’ve got a minute. Where do you keep the raw coffee beans?” Lilly shifted, trying her best to give the woman a polite smile. </p><p>“Yes, of course. Follow me,” she waved her hand at her as the woman started to lead her. </p><p>Once they got to the shelf lined with the large selection of coffee beans set up in long tubes and  was  each equipped with handles so one could pull it and get the amount they wanted she turned back to Lilly. “Anything else?”</p><p>Lilly shook her head, “No, no, oh but I really like your necklace by the way, mind if I ask where you got it?”</p><p>She woman seemed slightly confused at first before she looked down at it hanging around her neck. “Oh, this old thing? I bought it from a small second hand shop not too long ago, seemed nice for the price.” She sighed, “but its brought me nothin’ but bad luck since then.” She wrapped her hand around the pearl. </p><p>Lilly cocked her heading, trying her best to looks surprised, “Really? Well I think it’s lovely. If you’re not too big of a fan would you be willing to sell it to me? I have a thing for jewelry with eyes,” Lilly held up her hand to show off the ring and chuckled. </p><p>The woman’s features seemed to perk up. “Really, you’re offerin’ to buy it?” </p><p>Lilly nodded. </p><p>“Well hell, I’ve been trying to get this thing off of me for weeks, every time I do it just seems to find its way back. Maybe you’ll have a better time with it,” she shifted it from around her thick neck, struggling to fit it past her forehead. Before quickly showing it off in her palm. “Ten bucks and it’s yours, dear,” </p><p>Lilly grinned the best she could as she realized this would be the first step in giving a demon back his powers and possibly making her life even worse. “Really that’s all?” The woman nodded eagerly. “Then yeah, here,” she quickly shuffled around her pockets for her wallet and withdrew a ten dollar bill. </p><p>The minute the necklace touched Lille’s palm she could feel a spark go through her body and she shivered. Bills laugh echoed through her head and it took all her mental energy not to drop it. “Thanks, this really is lovely,”</p><p>The woman beamed, tucking the bill into her uniform. “My pleasure dear, hope it brings you more luck then it did me.” She offered her hand for lily  to shake, which she did hesitantly switching the neckless to her left. “Now if you excuse me, there’s a sub sandwich with my name on it,” she patted the pocket with the money inside and started to walk away. </p><p>Now alone Lilly considered her next course of action. Pausing only briefly she threw the necklace around her head. She waited for something to happen, something magical of terrifying or haunting, but nothing came. After a tense moment she forced herself to relax, grabbed a plastic bag, and filled it with coffee beans. </p><p>Stopping by the produce section she grabbed a few apples  and then along to the frozen area for some TV dinners and ice cream before heading to checkout. As she put her items on the table and waited for the cashier to finish scanning them she grabbed the pendent around her neck.</p><p>The pearl was large, and the eye carved into the center seemed to have been burnt in, though the pearl itself seemed real. Even the other yellow gems, while she wasn’t exactly sure what they were, didn’t seem like plastic. The necklace was an expensive one at least, Bill must have expensive taste, she thought with a silent chuckle.</p><p>“Miss?”</p><p>Lilly looked up to see she had neglected the cashier and quickly grimaced as she fumbled around for her wallet and paid the man. </p><p>Bags in hand she walked out the door. The chill hit her hard then and quickly she zipped her coat up tighter bending her head into the collar to try and keep her nose from freezing off. Two miles home was nothing, but she felt like it was going to be a long trek.</p>
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